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Listing in local language only?


Rikitan

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I just noticed one slovak Earthcache published today with listing in local language only :unsure:

I contacted owner and thankfully she replied that English part is being written and added very soon. However, she also mentioned that English description is not mandatory any longer ... ! Bummm! I re-checked EC guidelines quickly and she seems to be right - only local language is required now as must-be:

 

7. The EarthCache text and logging tasks must be submitted in the local language. Additional languages are encouraged, but the local language must be listed first. You may be requested to provide text in a language understandable to your reviewer to assist with the reviewing process.

 

Maybe this is an attempt to make Earthcaching more accessible in all the countries, even without knowledge of English language .. but totally wrong one <_< I'm travelling quite a lot and Earthcache is 10 times more in my eyes than regular cache. And understandable listing is vital part of it. I can forget about earthcaching in Italy, France, Germany if listings will be in their local languages only. Not even talking about other minor languages.

 

We can just believe that owners will be so "enlightened" to include English eventhough it is only optional now. But we know how it goes ... to write good quality listing in English with all the geological terms is quite complicated task for non-native speaker. If it won't be mandatory, 90% of listings will be only in Norwegian, Czech, Estonian, Indian, Portuguese ... etc.

 

I fear this game will slowly (or very soon?) lose its global aspect ..

Edited by Rikitan
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I just noticed one slovak Earthcache published today with listing in local language only :unsure:

I contacted owner and thankfully she replied that English part is being written and added very soon. However, she also mentioned that English description is not mandatory any longer ... ! Bummm! I re-checked EC guidelines quickly and she seems to be right - only local language is required now as must-be:

 

7. The EarthCache text and logging tasks must be submitted in the local language. Additional languages are encouraged, but the local language must be listed first. You may be requested to provide text in a language understandable to your reviewer to assist with the reviewing process.

 

Maybe this is an attempt to make Earthcaching more accessible in all the countries, even without knowledge of English language .. but totally wrong one <_< I'm travelling quite a lot and Earthcache is 10 times more in my eyes than regular cache. And understandable listing is vital part of it. I can forget about earthcaching in Italy, France, Germany if listings will be in their local languages only. Not even talking about other minor languages.

 

We can just believe that owners will be so "enlightened" to include English eventhough it is only optional now. But we know how it goes ... to write good quality listing in English with all the geological terms is quite complicated task for non-native speaker. If it won't be mandatory, 90% of listings will be only in Norwegian, Czech, Estonian, Indian, Portuguese ... etc.

 

I fear this game will slowly (or very soon?) lose its global aspect ..

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My wife and I just returned from Germany and Czech Republic where we found earthcaches and others to be in local language plus English or local language only. When no English was provided Google Translate quickly provided a crude, but usable, translation. So there's no need to stop caching if you can't read the local language.

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My wife and I just returned from Germany and Czech Republic where we found earthcaches and others to be in local language plus English or local language only. When no English was provided Google Translate quickly provided a crude, but usable, translation. So there's no need to stop caching if you can't read the local language.

Yes, automated translation services remain the only option when we don't know local language.

And yes, Google Translate is crude. Still OK for understanding most geocache listings. But very crude when translating semi-scientific texts.

Anyway, decision's taken .. I should live with that. And improve my german again a bit.

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Arguably then we should use Chinese since that is the most common language spoken/written or German since a good portion of cachers are German.

Oh c'mon, we both know it's - not Chinese, not German - what finally established itself as common base for communication around the Globe (excl. Paris :laughing: )

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I would say that, for about half of the German earthcaches I looked up on our last trip to Germany, the English translations appeared to be done in Google translate. So it is not much different to have to do the translation on one's own.

 

I bribed a Norwegian cacher with a hzoi coin to translate our EC in the Naerofjord, but then I didn't want to rely on Google translate to get it only 75% right. That's not close enough for a science lesson. But I am probably in the minority on this.

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I would say that, for about half of the German earthcaches I looked up on our last trip to Germany, the English translations appeared to be done in Google translate. So it is not much different to have to do the translation on one's own.

 

It could have been different by requiring a decent English translation and rejecting submissions with a lousy English version back in the times when the English version was mandatory (I complained about the fact that

Google translations have been accepted back then, but to no avail). I invested quite some work in translating Earth caches into English for others (people I do not even know) and yes, I had to look up special terms. Of course the result was not perfect, but certainly way better than what Google translate delivers.

 

Personally, I prefer a few Earthcaches and all of them of excellent quality (done by people with a decent geological background) and available in English to many Earthcaches most of which are mediocre and only available in some local language.

 

I also thought of Earthcaches as something special and not just as a cheap way to create a cache at a location where it is hard to hide or maintain a container.

 

 

Cezanne

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